True History of the Kelly Gang

The title of the movie takes itself entirely tongue in cheek. This movie is to Ned Kelly like what "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is to the Manson story. Its someone's entirely dreamed up take on the subject (the book it is based on, was classified as fiction). And that is perfectly fine. Entertaining, good acting, good scenery, does slide a little in the second half. The "C word" is an Aussie staple, so expect it!

I do agree with other comments about Ned needing a beard - it was his second best known trait!

I went in with excited expectation, as a fan of this genre and having enjoyed Peter Carey's book despite it's departure into fiction ... wow, disappointed... barely a resemblance to the book and I'm wondering why they bothered using the Kelly names and basic timeline ... would have been better as complete fiction ..

As many other reviewers have said, the first half of this film is engaging, well-acted and seems to be a fairly realistic depiction of the hardships of 1850s settlers in Australia. The second half, however, is a mess - it seems as if the scriptwriters had difficulty deciding if they should keep true to the know facts of Ned Kelly, keep true to Peter Carey's brilliant novel, or try to do something surreal, wild and original. This quandary results in none of those three approaches being done well and, by the end, it feels as if even the director has given up on it. A real pity - the split between good film to bad film can be drawn pretty much when the actor playing young Ned - Orlando Schwerdt - is replaced by the actor playing older Ned - George Mackay. This is not Mackay's fault, it is just that only then does the film come off the rails in terms of being a believable depiction of mid-Victorian Australia (e.g. Respectable folk watching what looks like UFC in a drawing room). A pity and a waste.

Takes a classic bit of Aussie history/fable and writes a new version with some similarities. Entertaining enough and rather poetic. Shot well, but quite up and down in terms of performances, altogether okay. If you're looking for a Hollywood blockbuster version of Ned Kelly's story, this isn't it! Likely to frustrate the hell out of anyone that reveres Ned Kelly and the story as told, which greatly amuses me and adds to this movie's charm. Overall quite good.

Surprised by the scathing reviews here. I really enjoyed this film. Great action, great script and dialogue and incredible cinematography... this film felt like a dystopian take on Aussie history turned folklore. This is not a biopic and not traditional in any sense. If you can leave your bias at the door you'll enjoy yourself